Get your holiday cash sorted before you leave
SETTING off an overseas adventure can be expensive and often one of the last things on travellers’ minds is currency.
Whether it be taking foreign cash, a travel card or using your own debit or credit card, it’s important to weigh up options before setting sail to avoid hefty fees and charges.
Here’s what you must consider before heading abroad. MONEY Citi’s head of banking and wealth management distribution David Zammit said first you should calculate “how much money you are looking to spend in the foreign currency.”
Work out how many days you are away for and then budget how much you think you will spend each day to work out the total you will need.
Some experts recommend you take 20 per cent in cash and the balance on card.
MULTIPLE FORMS OF CURRENCY A holiday can become stressful if you aren’t prepared for the worst when it comes to spending money – for instance getting pickpocketed or having your bank cards compromised.
Mr Zammit said travellers should arm themselves with currency in many forms so they always have a back- up plan.
“Have a couple of cards there you can use for emergencies,’’ he said.
A GOOD CURRENCY EXCHANGE Travelex’s managing director of Australia and New Zealand Dion Jensen said it’s vital travellers “find a reputable foreign exchange specialist”. “Know that you can get good quality notes or take different forms of foreign currency, whether that be cash or card or a mixture of both,’’ he said. And allow enough time to get the currency before you leave – some exchanges won’t stock enough cash in the currency you need so it may take several days to arrive. The very organised traveller may lock in rates on preloaded travel cards well in advance.
If you are preloading currency Mr Jensen said allow up to 48 hours for transfer.
Whether you are using a pre- loaded travel card or your own credit or debit card, be mindful of the costs.
Fees can sting – travel cards can come with charges including exchange rate fees, initial card loading fees, cash reload and ATM charges.
Make sure you do online comparisons to see how cards stack up pricewise.